3. The Tender Caress.
The Tender Caress.
JAYCE
O ur new dragoner won’t last a fortnight.
Harlow Prince looks as delicate as his name implies.
He is slim and long-limbed, his skin papery-thin as if he has never spent a day of work under the sun.
His hair is the color of the sky at dusk, blonde with a reddish hue.
He’s too beautiful to risk getting burned.
He should be kept behind glass like a rare butterfly.
But dragoners are hard to come by these days, as even the prospect of a good salary isn’t enough to convince most of them to leave the comfort of cities to risk their lives in the wilds.
Beggars can’t be choosers, so Harlow Prince joined my crew. I hope he’s not one of those rich kids from influential families in Dragonest looking to stick it to mommy and daddy. If he goes missing, would we find ourselves hunted down by their henchmen? It wouldn’t be the first time.
Hopefully, he’ll quit before it comes to that. I just have to make sure he doesn’t take a wrong step over a deadly chasm.
I must admit, he has wormed his way into my crew surprisingly fast. I’ve been observing him for the past three days, and as soon as his fear of heights settled, he came out of his shell.
On the first evening, I found him laughing with Kuroki in the control room.
I wouldn’t have made much of it—Kuroki is friendly with everyone—but later that night, Harlow spent the first watch with Alara and Freddy playing cards.
My old friends fed him stories about our many jobs and feats.
I could hear them laughing from my cabin, and I had the nasty feeling they were making fun of some of my mishaps over the years.
The couple has been with me for a long time.
On the second day, Harlow helped Gia to make breakfast. When I wandered into the galley at sunrise in search of coffee, I found him making bread to be cooked in the liquid-fire oven Wilbur built for us.
“It’s an incredible invention,” he said as he watched the crust turn golden. “Most would think it’s a wasteful use for such a rare fuel, but I guess you guys always have liquid-fire to spare. Spoiled fire scroungers.”
Gia laughed and rubbed the flour off Harlow’s nose.
When had they become so close? I hired him two days ago!
And this afternoon, I found him in the engine room, listening to an uncharacteristically passionate Wilbur explain how the propellers functioned thanks to liquid-fire.
I’ve been far too aware of where Harlow Prince is on my ship at any given time of the day.
And, annoyingly, he sought the friendship of all the members of my crew, but ignored me entirely.
From the looks I sometimes catch him sending my way, he holds a grudge against me since the first day. Our new dragoner is proud.
But pride has always been one of my favorite sins, and I feel the urge to test him.
“We’re landing in Nethermere in an hour,” I announce in the evening after doing the quick calculation with our position and speed. The wind is helping us.
Harlow perks up from the leather chair Freddy brought to the upper deck for him so he could read during the day. Something about his cabin being too gloomy. Alara even gave him a liquid-fire lantern for when it gets dark in the evening.
“The Tender Caress?” Alara asks from her seat at the table behind Harlow. She and Freddy have been cleaning their weapons.
“Yes,” I say.
She grins and high-fives her husband.
The last two days have been uneventful, so I can’t blame their eagerness for a little fun.
“What’s the Tender Caress?” Harlow asks, his curiosity overshadowing his dislike for me.
“A pleasure house. That’s where we’ll spend our evening. Of course, you’re free to stay on the ship.”
A bait, and a taunt. And from the frown on his pretty face, I know he’s biting. He thinks I expect him to hide here with his books while the rest of the crew is having fun. His pride won’t let him stay behind.
He shakes his head. “I’m coming. I’ve never been to Nethermere.”
And to a pleasure house? I almost ask.
I clap my hands. “Good. Put on your best outfit. We’re going out tonight,” I say, knowing very well he only owns brown pants and linen shirts.
His lips thin, but he says nothing.
Half an hour later, I regret my taunting as Harlow comes out from below decks wearing his usual brown pants—no surprise there—with one of Alara’s black silk shirts. The dark fabric hugs his body and the neckline is low enough to reveal an eyeful of his hairless chest.
“Looking good, Your Royal Highness,” I say.
Harlow’s eyes burn with annoyance. It’s so easy to get the raise out of him, it’s almost unfair.
But I’ve never been known to play fair.
Moments later, he hangs on the bulwark for dear life as Kuroki brings us closer to the airdocks of the water city of Nethermere.
They built the city south of the Spine—the mountain range separating the north and the south of East Hargos—and hundreds of canals connect its streets and buildings before emptying into the lake.
A white granite castle stands at the center of Nethermere.
A dockmaster gestures toward a wharf we can use, and I shout directions to Kuroki.
I keep an eye out for Harlow—docking can sometimes be a little bumpy, and I don’t want to lose my dragoner in the canal below us.
It would be a pain in the ass to fish him out.
Kuroki fell in after his first night at the Tender Caress.
He was drunk as a skunk and I thought he had drowned.
We found him hours later, wandering the lake’s shore, wet and sober.
Alara and Freddy jump down to anchor the Blunder . The dockmaster awaits us, and I offer him a small vial of liquid-fire to pay for the docking fee. This vial alone can power an airship like mine for a few days.
I walk back up the ramp to offer a hand to Harlow and make sure he doesn’t fall to the water below. His glare is venomous as he pushes his way past me. I chuckle.
Gia comes down next, accepting my hand with a smile. She looks stunning in a black dress with gold embroidery.
As we walk along the airdock, Harlow asks, “Aren’t we waiting for Kuroki and Wilbur?”
I shake my head. “Wilbur never leaves the Blunder . And Kuroki never misses a chance to be alone on the ship with Wilbur.”
Harlow’s delicate eyebrows raise up at that.
I’m surprised he hasn’t caught on to Kuroki’s massive crush on our mechanic.
He’s not overly subtle about it. The only one who hasn’t seemed to notice is Wilbur.
But then again, a dragon could walk into his engine room while he tinkered, and he wouldn’t notice it until the beast breathed fire up his ass.
We reach the end of the airdock and hail a boat from the cobblestone street. I drop a few coins in the man’s hand, and seconds later, we are off through the intricate network of canals. Nethermere is a maze, and I’ve long given up the idea of making sense of it.
The waterways are lit up by hundreds of oil lamps, their wavering light reflected in the clear waters. Harlow asks a million questions about the city, to which Alara and Gia answer happily. I was only a child the first time my father took me to Nethermere, and I remember being awestruck.
The Tender Caress is difficult to miss. It’s a massive five-story white granite building—made to resemble the castle on a smaller scale—with red lights hanging from the balconies. Half-naked women and men wave languidly at the boats passing by, hoping to catch the attention of wealthy visitors.
A courtesan with a breast to sing about, barely concealed behind a flimsy dress, beckons at Harlow from the first floor. He stares for so long I can’t help the laugh that escapes my lips. Luckily, he’s too distracted to notice I’m making fun of him.
We disembark on the narrow street and make our way into the Tender Caress. The inside is even more luxurious than the outside. Gold and black paint coats all the furniture, creating a sensual effect on the candlelit wide space. Heavy drapes and curtains separate the different areas.
“It’s the best pleasure house in all of Hargos,” Alara explains as they welcome us like kings and queens.
“The courtesans sometimes wait for years to get a chance to get hired here. The Madam cares for them and they get to keep most of their earnings. And the security is tight.” She gestures toward the towering men hidden in the dark corners of the room.
“Disrespect a courtesan, and you’ll get what’s coming to you. ”
“I would never…” Harlow says, eyes wide.
He doesn’t seem to know where to look. The courtesans are in many states of undress inside the opulent building.
Voyeurism excites some customers, so they provide an adjacent room for watchers and those who want to be watched.
The drape isn’t fully drawn, offering us a glimpse of the sweet depravities on the other side.
Of course, you’re not allowed to really watch until you’ve paid the price of pleasure.
A beautiful hostess welcomes us at the counter at the end of the wide room.
“Captain Jayce Hawkins,” she says with a charming smile. “What a pleasure to have you back.”
“The pleasure is all mine, Sharran,” I say, kissing her hand.
She giggles and touches my shoulder. “Who will it be today?”
I gesture at my crew, urging them to make their choice.
“Is Sheela available?” Gia asks.
“Of course. It’s still early.” She snaps her fingers and a beautiful Mandinkan woman with long hair appears by Gia’s side, as if on cue.
My cook has a taste for fine women, and she has her favorites at the Tender Caress. The courtesan leads her upstairs.
Alara and Freddy are already leaving for one of the larger rooms.
Harlow finds himself alone behind me, looking a little panicky.
“Aren’t they married?” he whispers.
“Of course they are,” I say with a smile. “And they don’t touch anyone but each other. But they still like to get frisky with spectators watching them from time to time, if you know what I mean.”